Oklahoma’s upset of South Carolina on Jan. 22 is one of the biggest moments of the women’s college basketball season so far.

It was highlighted by freshman Aaliyah Chavez scoring 15 of Oklahoma’s 19 points in overtime, then capped off by Sooners coach Jennie Baranczyk issuing a declarative not-safe-for-work statement captured by ESPN cameras in the postgame huddle.

Chavez’s performance coupled with her coach’s viral postgame message put the rest of the sport on notice: Oklahoma is again a contender and on the right night, the Sooners can beat anyone including a blue blood like South Carolina.

‘She got the ball where it needed to go, and she just played,’ Baranczyk said of Chavez after the victory over South Carolina.

Chavez has feuled the Sooners’ success. When she’s at her best, Oklahoma looks like a team capable of making the Final Four for the first time since 2010. When she’s not, they struggle.

When Chavez shoots 32% or better from the floor, Oklahoma is 12-0 this season. That mark includes two overtime victories — over South Carolina and N.C. State — and a neutral site win over rival Oklahoma State. However, when she shoots below 32%, the Sooners are 4-4. Three of those victories were against mid-major opponents, while all four defeats were in Quad 1 games to nationally ranked teams — UCLA, LSU, Kentucky and Ole Miss.

Oklahoma has only lost once this season when Chavez scores north of 20 points. She had 26 in a five-point loss to Ole Miss. The rookie did commit a season-high seven turnovers in that game though. And the Sooners losses to UCLA and LSU featured Chavez’s worst shooting performances of the season — 25% and 21.4% from the floor, respectively.

So, the plan for beating Oklahoma seems simple: stop Chavez.

But as South Carolina coach Dawn Staley learned last week, that’s easier said than done as the native of Lubbock, Texas, lit up her Gamecocks for 26 points and eight assists. The victory gave Oklahoma its third win over a top-two ranked opponent in program history.

‘She was great, she ran her team, took big shots and delivered the ball,’ Staley said of Chavez. ‘Everything that you want a point guard to do, she’s having a great freshman year.’

Chavez is the latest superstar freshman to emerge as the bus driver for her team. Since 2009, she’s one of six players to average at least 19 points, four assists and 3.5 rebounds per game. The others in that group are Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, UConn’s Paige Bueckers, Texas A&M’s Chennedy Carter, Ohio State’s Kelsey Mitchell and Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo.

To lead a team as a rookie, a player needs to have the talent and the trust of her head coach and teammates. Chavez has that from Baranczyk and the Sooners.

“She just craves getting better, and she craves just playing. And she has a fun, really dynamic ability to just shine,” Baranczyk said in November, after Oklahoma won at Western Carolina. “And it’s not just when she scores. She throws some really nice passes and works her tail off on the defensive end. You can talk through some things on the floor and she understands it. She’s got an incredible basketball IQ.”

Depending on which recruiting service you looked at, Chavez was either the first or second ranked recruit in the 2025 class, swapping or sharing the top spot with USC’s Jazzy Davidson. She was a McDonald’s All-American, MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic and Gatorade National High School Player of the Year. She chose the Sooners over dozens of offers, including South Carolina, LSU, UCLA, Texas Tech and Texas.

Back in November in the bowels of the Ramsey Regional Activity Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina — after she tallied 19 points, six rebounds and five assists in a lopsided win over Western Carolina — Chavez explained what it’s like playing for Baranczyk, who trusts her to make key decisions in running the offense.

“She gives all of us the green light. Now, it’s what you do with it,” Chavez told USA Today Sports. “At the end of the game, she trusts me to make sure I’m making the right play. And I love that, just because we’ve had that connection for a while now. So, I’m just playing as hard as I can each and every game.”

Of course, it’s not just Chavez that has made Oklahoma a contender. Peyton Verhulst is a fifth-year guard who brings veteran experience, Zya Vann has made a sophomore leap, Sahara Williams has played with Team USA and Raegan Beers, a former All-American, is a double-double machine.

But for better or for worse, this Oklahoma team belongs to Chavez. She has the keys to their success. The Sooners will go as far as she can take them.

RENTON, WA − One man’s treasure is another man’s … treasure? It’s about as apt a way as possible to sum up the last year for Cooper Kupp.

It was readily apparent following Sunday’s NFC championship game win that Kupp’s Seattle Seahawks teammates were thrilled for him. It was readily apparent following Sunday’s NFC championship game loss that Kupp’s former Los Angeles Rams teammates were nearly as thrilled for him.

As for the man himself? It was fairly clear Monday that Kupp still isn’t quite able to fully revel in the thrill of another Super Bowl trip with his new team given that it came at the expense of his previous one.

“It’s hard because those guys – a lot of those guys that were across the field last night – are my best friends, you know, lifelong friends of mine,” Kupp, after collecting his thoughts, replied when asked by USA TODAY Sports at the Seahawks’ suburban training facility.

“It’s just a weird conflict, a weird thing to work through.”

Give him credit for working through it effectively Sunday.

Kupp’s 13-yard touchdown catch from Sam Darnold late in the third quarter provided Seattle’s final points – and what turned out to be the decisive margin – in a 31-27 victory, the Seahawks’ second in the Pacific Northwest over their NFC West rivals in the past five weeks.

“I’m most happy for Coop,” said linebacker Ernest Jones IV, a Rams castoff himself who helped recruit Kupp to Seattle following his release last year, after the game Sunday. (Kupp didn’t speak to reporters in the locker room postgame.)

“I’ve been in that position. I’ve been there. I’ve left that place. I know everything he went through. I know this feels good for him, and I’m happy we were able to do it.”

Said Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald: “Some whispers before the game like, ‘How cool would it be if Coop scored a touchdown today? And he did. I mean, we love him. He’s the best.”

The Rams clearly don’t disagree.

Kupp finished his 2021 season for LA with Super Bowl 56 honors, the capstone of a campaign during which he had 178 catches for 2,425 yards – NFL records when combining a single season plus postseason.

But his production dipped in subsequent years, in part because Kupp was often injured but also because Puka Nacua instantly emerged as a No. 1-caliber receiver as a rookie in 2023. Kupp’s sagging numbers, which didn’t align with his salary, led the Rams to the agonizing decision to release him last March.

Kupp, a native of Washington state, signed a three-year, $45 million deal with Seattle. He caught 47 balls for 593 yards in a secondary role to Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

And though Kupp was effectively replaced by free-agent acquisition Davante Adams, a “gone but not forgotten” vibe emanates from his ex-mates.

“My mentor, a friend to me, and I know I wanted to see him and be able to congratulate him on the game he had and then also congratulate him on the opportunity to go out there and play for another Super Bowl,” said Nacua.

“I love that dude. I’m super proud of him, and I can’t wait to watch him.”

Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford hovered long enough in the aftermath of what was a gutting defeat for him in order to wish Kupp luck in Super Bowl 60 against the New England Patriots.

“Obviously just so much love for him as a friend,” Kupp said of Stafford, with whom he’d spend countless hours watching film for the Rams as their personal bond grew.

“And so for him in that moment, to be able to like just linger on the field, and come find me means a lot. Yeah, that was a pretty cool moment.”

Kupp, whose crucial – if questionable – third-down catch in Sunday’s fourth quarter also proved deadly to the Rams, extending a drive that allowed Seattle to drain most of the final five minutes from the clock, now heads to his third Super Bowl. (He was injured and didn’t play in the Rams’ Super Bowl 53 loss to the Patriots.)

Yet Kupp also isn’t living in the past. Asked where his Super Bowl MVP trophy is, he replied, “I believe it’s down in LA. So who knows?”

Now it’s full speed ahead with preparations begin to take on New England on Feb. 8 in Santa Clara, California. And though the Patriots are the final stepping stone to what would be a second Lombardi for Kupp and the Seahawks franchise, he couldn’t help but marvel at the path he and his new squad have taken.

“For this story to be what it was, had to be through the Rams to be able to get to where we wanted to go, NFC championship in that moment,” he said.

“Yeah, script writers did a good job with that one, tell you that.”

• Kirby Smart still builds his Georgia teams by developing top high school recruits rather than relying on transfers.
• Indiana won in contrast to Smart’s methods. The Hoosiers won with transfers.
• The 2026 season will test if Smart’s strategy can produce another national championship, as Georgia relies on his highly-ranked 2024 recruiting class.

Let me rewind the clock for you to a fall Saturday in 2022. After Georgia busted out the whooping stick on Tennessee, coach Kirby Smart puffed out his chest and touted his team reigned despite signing no transfers in the previous offseason.

“A bunch of the kids that love this place,” Smart said then of his 2022 Bulldogs.

They loved winning, too, and they were darn good at it. Georgia captured a second straight national championship with a roster forged by Smart’s perennially excellent recruiting classes, which he so expertly developed into NFL talent.

Smart’s back-to-back championship teams formed a firewall against transfer free agency changing the formula to greatness.

Smart won national titles much like Nick Saban had done at Alabama.

He signed a bevy of blue-chip recruits. He retained them. He developed them. He ruled.

Then, the firewall fractured.

In the years since Smart’s second title, the game’s changed. How could you dispute that, after Indiana just won the national championship? Transfers from schools like California, Maryland and James Madison fueled the Hoosiers’ success.

Schools like Ohio State and Texas aren’t sitting on their hands. A pair of traditional recruiting powers, the Buckeyes and Longhorns also took big swings this month in the transfer market.

Ryan Day and Steve Sarkisian each compiled their biggest transfer class ever. Clearly, they’re not treating Indiana’s success as a fluke.

And off in the corner, marching to his own drumbeat, stands Smart. The Georgia coach built his 2026 roster much as he’s always done. He’s lambasted a culture where, as he puts it, many athletes want college football’s paycheck without its physicality.

Never mind that the Hoosiers, including their transfers, looked mighty physical this past season, while showcasing a defense superior to Georgia’s. Led by Indiana, the Big Ten supplanted the SEC as the bully on the block.

And never mind that Smart last won a College Football Playoff game in the 2022 season. Georgia allowed 39 points in a playoff loss to a Mississippi team built from the portal. What’s this I hear about physicality?

Smart signs more transfers than he once did, but he’s nonetheless still using the portal much more sparingly than most of his peers. Smart’s focus remains on signing, retaining and developing top recruiting classes filled with four- and five-star teenagers.

He’s a throwback to what’s quickly becoming a bygone era.

Buy IU championship books, prints

Does Kirby Smart’s roster strategy still make sense?

You cannot call this a fool’s errand, because Smart is no fool. He remains a preeminent coach of a premier program. Even without a playoff win, the Bulldogs went 26-6 the past three seasons. They’re the two-time defending SEC champions. A vast majority of coaches would trade their roster for Smart’s.

This 2026 season will be a litmus test of whether Smart’s methods still can produce a team that’s better than good — that’s the best in the nation.

It’s time for Georgia to start collecting dividends from a 2024 recruiting class that ranked No. 1 nationally. That year, Smart signed more than 10% of the nation’s top 100 prospects. He retained most of them, too. Georgia’s 2026 roster includes 10 players who were top-100 prospects in the 2024 class.

That’s the old Saban blueprint at work. It’s up to Smart to prove that formula still produces national championships.

Georgia’s 2026 season pinned to 2024 recruiting class

Georgia’s 2024 recruiting haul included star running back Nate Frazier. Mostly, though, the fingerprints of that recruiting class will be found next season within a Georgia defense that’s slipped from the nation’s elite.

Those 2024 recruits now will be third-year players. Shouldn’t that be a payoff point? There’s a track record for it.

Smart’s 2021 national championship team featured defensive stars like Nolan Smith, Travon Walker, Nakobe Dean and Lewis Cine. They were third-year players who’d signed as blue-chippers among a ballyhooed 2019 recruiting class that ranked second nationally only to Alabama’s class.

Smart’s 2024 class ranked as being even better than his 2019 class.

Months before Smart won his first national championship at Georgia, he took a not-so-subtle jab at Dan Mullen after the Bulldogs throttled Florida: “There’s no coach out there who can out-coach recruiting.”

At that time, nobody was out-recruiting Smart. Georgia remains a recruiting juggernaut, and yet Indiana owns the big trophy, while the SEC has not sent a team to the national championship game in any of the past three seasons.

Indiana won with a bunch of guys who came out of high school as three- or two- or even zero-star recruits, before flourishing with the Hoosiers.

I guess Curt Cignetti knows how to out-coach (and out-develop) recruiting rankings.

Four years ago, Smart took pride in winning without transfers. After signing the SEC’s smallest transfer haul, he’s doubling down on his methods. For that to pay off, the coveted prospects from Georgia’s 2024 recruiting class must play up to their billing, lest we start to wonder whether Smart has fallen behind the times.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s senior national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Ja Morant are the three biggest potential targets ahead of the 2026 NBA trading deadline.

All three are injured, and all three will be sidelined well beyond the Feb. 5 deadline. This complicates the overall market.

Each player is expected to make an eventual full return to health, though each – to varying degrees – has his own complicated injury history. The problem arises in the risk potential suitors may be feeling to trade for players who have combined to miss 63 games this season, as well as the real assets required to pry those stars away from their teams.

This all points to a potential drag in the trading market, possibly making this a sleepy deadline – especially when compared to last season’s that saw stars like Luka Dončić, Jimmy Butler, De’Aaron Fox and Brandon Ingram each shipped to new teams.

Complicating this further is that the entire market is in somewhat of a holding pattern, awaiting to see what happens with Antetokounmpo, the two-time Most Valuable Player and biggest chip on the board.

Antetokounmpo technically has not requested a trade, and the Milwaukee Bucks have been reluctant to make their franchise player available in a deal. But Antetokounmpo, 31, has repeatedly voiced his frustrations – he most recently characterized the team’s play as “selfish” – and has maintained that he wants to compete for championships.

The Bucks are 18-26 and 10th in the Eastern Conference. This is quickly becoming a lost season, and the latest Antetokounmpo injury likely precludes them from being buyers ahead of the deadline. So the Bucks may reluctantly understand that a fresh start is best for everyone, particularly because Antetokounmpo has one more year on his deal with a player option for 2027-28 that he can decline.

Essentially, if Milwaukee senses that Antetokounmpo is considering walking during the 2027 offseason, the Bucks may want to at least recoup some assets for a rebuild. In that case, a trade makes perfect sense.

Yet, potential suitors will have far more financial flexibility and draft capital to deploy in an Antetokounmpo trade over the offseason, so the Bucks are probably best served to exercise patience.

Either way, we’re nearly 50 games into the season, Antetokounmpo is dealing with an injury that has nagged him, and he’s expected to be reevaluated in a month – at the earliest. That puts potential contenders who would be interested in him in a tricky spot.

Adding Antetokounmpo is a franchise-altering move that also impacts the day-to-day operation of a team. Regardless of who the suitors may be, a player like Antetokounmpo completely alters the way offenses are run, so there would be an adjustment period.

Not only are the mechanics of trading a player like Antetokounmpo during the season complicated (with a third team possibly needing to be involved), it also means these suitors would need to undergo a massive pivot, which is a risk this late in the year.

So, as the rest of the league awaits for resolution with Antetokounmpo, this could create a further lag in the trading market.

The Mavericks have also indicated they’re not necessarily in a rush to move Davis, who was the headliner returned in the infamous Dončić deal. Davis turns 33 in mid-March and is a constant injury concern, though he can be effective when he’s on the floor.

Dallas, though, is hanging around the play-in picture in the West and is also without Kyrie Irving. Eventually, the Mavericks may feel that they can make a late push for the playoffs.

And the Grizzlies have to contend with a depressed market as Morant’s value is as low as it has been throughout his career.

Granted, this could all change very quickly. If the Bucks decide they want to prioritize a head start on a rebuild, they could look to move Antetokounmpo sooner. If the Mavericks feel they can get good value for Davis, maybe they scoop up younger players more aligned with their timeline. Maybe the Grizzlies decide their relationship with Morant has run its course.

This trading deadline will certainly be active with role players like Jonathan Kuminga, Michael Porter Jr., Coby White and Domantas Sabonis likely to find new teams.

Don’t be surprised, however, if all this smoke about Antetokounmpo, Davis and Morant turns out to be just that.

There’s something different about Arizona this season.

On the surface, it looks like the typical Tommy Lloyd team. The Wildcats started the season with impressive wins, rolling into the new calendar year playing a fast, fun brand of basketball that puts them in the upper echelon of title contenders.

It always seems smart to buy stock in the top-ranked Wildcats. The only issue is it has gone to waste in March. The same vibe has existed during this season, and you may be hesitant to buy-in again given the recent postseason history. Maybe you need to see more — or just avoid it entirely.

But there’s something different about these Wildcats. This team looks like it can be legit and break the Final Four curse; Arizona got through its first major test of 2026 with a road win at Brigham Young — just not in the prettiest of fashion.

For the majority of the night on Monday, Jan. 26, Arizona looked like it was the best team in the country. It went into a hostile Marriott Center — where 13th-ranked BYU hasn’t lost in nearly a year — and silenced more than 18,000 people. 

The Wildcats dominated both sides of the ball, and answered everything the Cougars tried. Brayden Burries and Jaden Bradley were slicing and dicing while BYU star AJ Dybantsa struggled to find a rhythm after dropping 43 points just two days before. 

It was a 19-point game with just under 11 minutes to go and we were ready to declare Arizona was no longer the team that can’t get it done when the lights are brightest. That was until the Wildcats showed part of that identity isn’t gone yet.

Arizona let BYU hang around and the Cougars made a late push, all while the Wildcats were falling apart. Not defending the perimeter. Collapsing on the boards. A flagrant foul. Turnovers.

BYU made a 12-2 run in the final minute to make it a one-point deficit with 16 seconds left, and the Cougars had a chance to steal the win, only for Burries to save the day with a block from behind.

In what was looking like an emphatic statement to the rest of the country, Arizona instead showed it isn’t invincible. Yes, they deserve to be the unanimous No. 1 team in the country with a 9-0 Quad 1 record, tied for most wins in the category with Duke.

Yet the game in Provo, Utah was eerily similar to how the season goes: fantastic start, but fall apart at the end. Arizona has looked so dominant recently, mostly because it hasn’t been tested in some time. 

After beating Connecticut, Alabama and San Diego State all before Christmas, the competition has been easy to start Big 12 action. Five of the first seven games came against the bottom half of the conference, all mostly blowout victories.

We want to see how this Arizona team stacks up against other elite teams before it’s worth investing in. It passed the first test, but plenty more are on the horizon.

BYU was just the start of a 10-game stretch where Arizona will play six ranked teams, all of which are in the top 14 of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll. Trips to Kansas and Houston? Good luck with that.

This will be the time for Arizona to prove its legitimacy. It certainly is capable of doing so. What’s scary about the Wildcats is they are lethal in numerous ways. Opponents walk into the arena and don’t know who will be the deadly assassin, mostly because it’s a team full of them.

One night it’s the guards in Burries, Bradley or Koa Peat, the next it’s the veteran big man Motiejus Krivas, and so on. Like against BYU, it can be multiple of them, which shouldn’t give teams much of a chance. 

This Arizona team has all the makings of being the one that gets back to the Final Four for the first time since 2001. It has the tools and recipe to be cutting the nets by then.

But then we remember how the end always goes, where this mighty looking ship gets taken out by an iceberg that should have been avoidable. This upcoming stretch will show if Arizona is done sinking, and ready to finish the voyage.

The U.S. women’s national team will face Chile on Tuesday, Jan. 27 in the second of two January friendlies.

Hayes is expected to ring the changes of Tuesday’s game, which will be the first time the USWNT has played in Santa Barbara.

With the two matches taking place outside of a FIFA window, Hayes named a 26-player roster based entirely in the NWSL.

Watch USWNT vs Chile on Sling

Reilyn Turner, Sally Menti and Maddie Dahlien earned their first caps against Paraguay, leaving goalkeeper Jordan Silkowitz, defender Ayo Oke and midfielder Riley Jackson as the only uncapped players on the roster.

Chile is ranked 47th in FIFA’s world rankings, the sixth-best in South America.

These teams have met three times in their history, with the U.S. beating Chile in two 2018 friendlies before defeating La Roja 3-0 in the 2019 World Cup group stage.

USWNT vs Chile prediction, pick

The U.S. showed no rust against Paraguay, even with an inexperienced side. Chile doesn’t look likely to offer much more resistance.

Prediction: USWNT 4, Chile 0

USWNT vs Chile channel, start time, streaming

• When: Tuesday, Jan. 27
• Where: Harder Stadium (Santa Barbara, California)
• Time: 10 p.m. ET
• Channel/streaming: TBS, HBO Max, Universo, Peacock (Watch LIVE)

The top riser in NCAA women’s hockey this week came from the ECAC, where Quinnipiac has emerged as a program that continues to put together consistent performances. 

In the WCHA, Wisconsin, Ohio State and Minnesota continued to jockey for national positioning ahead of the Olympics, while Minnesota-Duluth finally ended a nearly monthlong winless streak.

Teams now approach their final pre-Olympic weekend before many of the top players in NCAA hockey will head to Italy for a month. The Americans are favorites to win gold in women’s hockey.

Here’s a look at the top 10 NCAA women’s hockey programs this week:

Women’s college hockey power rankings

1. University of Wisconsin (WCHA)

Wisconsin pummeled Bemidji State with Caroline Harvey and Kirsten Simms, two of NCAA hockey’s top PWHL draft prospects, each scoring hat tricks and putting up six-point performances in the opener of the series. Wisconsin’s seniors continue to dominate. When they’re gone for the Olympics, this team may actually get stronger heading to the postseason, giving their depth an opportunity to step up. 

2. Ohio State University (WCHA)

After needing overtime to beat St. Thomas 2-1 on Friday despite allowing only 10 shots against, Ohio State responded with a 5-0 win on Saturday. Captain Jocelyn Amos continued to heat up at the right time of year, scoring three goals this weekend. She’s been one of the better players in NCAA hockey this month.

3. University of Minnesota (WCHA)

The strong season of Abbey Murphy continues as she now has 18 goals and 29 points in her last 10 games with the Gophers. She added to her totals this weekend, scoring her 36th goal of the season and 139th career goal, tying her with current Ohio State coach Nadine Muzerall as the program’s all-time leader. Minnesota swept St. Cloud State and shows no signs of slowing down.

4. Quinnipiac (ECAC)

It’s taken the bulk of the season to get there, but Quinnipiac now sits as the top program outside the WCHA. They beat Cornell and Colgate this weekend with ease. Felicia Frank may be the best goaltender in NCAA hockey right now. She stopped 69 of 70 shots she faced this weekend, and Kahlen Lamarche became only the second player in the nation, following Murphy, to hit 30 goals this season.

5. Penn State (AHA)

Facing the NCAA’s newest program, Delaware, Penn State handled its business, shutting out the Blue Hens 12-0 over two games. Given Penn State’s strength of schedule, it’s hard to imagine they’ll be ready for top competition at the NCAA tournament, and many PWHL scouts are beginning to discuss the difficulty of assessing their players’ readiness for the next level. 

6. Northeastern (Hockey East)

After beating Boston College in the women’s Beanpot consolation game, the Huskies swept Connecticut, which has somehow remained a highly ranked national program. Rookie Stryker Zablocki will be a candidate for national rookie of the year, and she doesn’t look far off from being talked about as one of the best in NCAA hockey. Beating UConn twice this weekend solidified Northeastern’s spot among the top programs.

7. Cornell (ECAC)

Cornell’s 6-1 win over Princeton was impressive. They got four goals from their blueline, which has perennially been one of the best in the nation. Quinnipiac shut them out 4-0 the following day, but between Cornell’s back end that features Piper Gober, Alyssa Regalado and Grace Dwyer, and Annelies Bergmann in net, it can shut down opponents on any given night.

8. Princeton (ECAC)

Princeton would like to forget this weekend. The Tigers have one of the best top lines in college hockey with Issy Wunder and Mackenzie Alexander tormenting teams, but they ran into hot goaltending and a pair of teams that effectively line-matched for 60 minutes to contain the duo. Princeton fell 6-1 to Cornell, and then was upset 3-2 in overtime by Colgate. It’s not the time of year for a slump.

9. Yale (ECAC)

Yale was off this week, buying the team another week in the top 10. Where this program thrives is analytically. They win puck battles, block shots, maintain possession and play as a cohesive unit. Next weekend, Yale plays two unranked teams on the schedule before closing out their year with test after test against Clarkson, St. Lawrence, Princeton and Quinnipiac.

10. University of Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA)

Finally, Minnesota-Duluth snapped a disastrous run that saw it start 2026 with seven games without a win. They plummeted in the national standings because of it. This weekend, they tied Minnesota State before finally beating them in the second game of their series 3-0. It was a welcome performance from Eve Gascon, who made 24 saves in the shutout. Gascon and Bulldogs forward Caitlin Kraemer were clearly affected by being left off Team Canada.

Diego Pavia played big in the biggest moments on the football field. But the Vanderbilt quarterback came up short in the first step of his NFL journey.

Pavia measured at 5-9 7/8 inches at the Senior Bowl on Monday, Jan. 26. Vanderbilt listed the Heisman Trophy runner-up at 6-0 on its website.

It’s not unusual for teams to exaggerate player measurements, in fact, it’s rather commonplace. But one of the key concerns about Pavia as a pro is his height — or lack thereof.

Pavia, who turns 24 on Feb. 16, led Vanderbilt to a 10-3 record this season, passing for 3,539 yards and 29 touchdowns and rushing for 862 yards with 10 more touchdowns.

“Whoever takes me (in the NFL) and takes a chance on me will get everything I’ve got,” Pavia said after Vanderbilt’s ReliaQuest Bowl loss to Iowa.

NFL scouts will get a close look at Pavia this week in Mobile, Alabama at Senior Bowl practices and this Saturday’s game. Then comes the NFL Scouting Combine and team interviews, which will likely be just as important as his tape and measurements after his post-Heisman outburst may have turned off some NFL personnel.

‘Whatever you need done,’ Pavia told The Tennessean. ‘I will do it. I’m the type of guy that if my teammate needs something, I’ll be there. If my coach needs something, I’ll be there. I don’t care who you are or where you came from. We believe relatedness is our edge, and I’ll carry that with me wherever I go.’

The Tennessean’s Gentry Estes contributed to this story.

When is the Senior Bowl 2026?

• Time/Date: 2:30 p.m., Jan. 31
• Where: Mobile, Ala.

What TV channel is Senior Bowl on?

• The Senior Bowl will be televised on the NFL Network.